Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (IN: Assessment and Prediction of Suicide, edited by R W Maris et al)

This chapter reviews the literature, the incidence of suicide in substance abusers, & identifies predictors of attempted/completed suicide for both alcohol abusers & drug abusers. Findings indicate that substance abuse is associated with an increased likelihood of suicide. However, many devised scales for predicting suicide do not include substance abuse as a predicitive sign. Also, more research has been done on alcoholics than on drug abusers. Future research questions are noted. (84 Refs.)